Changes
by JWolf28
Summary: After her father won the custody war, Beca was forced to live with him and his new girlfriend. The new girlfriend tries too much to be Beca's new mom, her dad is very irritable, and after a punishment, Beca runs away. AU
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, this is only my second Pitch Perfect fic and the other one was pathetically short. This one is a bit longer and I'm not sure what to think of it, so I thought I'd post it and let everyone else decide. So, please leave me a review with your thoughts. **

**Disclaimer: As much as I wish I owned Pitch Perfect and its characters, I do not.**

I stared moodily out the window of the car. I couldn't believe that my dad got custody of me. My parents' divorce was nasty, but Mom always said that as long as we were together, everything would be okay. Well, everything is not okay now. Mom is still in LA and Dad is taking me to Brookings, South Dakota. I still have my mixing equipment, so I guess that's all a fourteen year old can ask for when her parents are divorced.

As Dad pulls up to the house, I have to admit, it's nice. A four story house overlooking a lake seemed more like a vacation spot than a home, but I wasn't going to complain. Dad looks back at me. "I think you'll like it. There's a soundproof room on the fourth floor that looked like it might be a great place for you to set up your music."

I nodded absentmindedly and stared at the house. It could be a great place to live. Then the Barbie wannabe came out the front door and waved merrily. I frowned at Dad. "I didn't know that place came with a bimbo."

Dad glared at me. "That's my new girlfriend, Rebecca. Her name is Sheila if you care to know."

"I don't care to know."

Dad shook his head and sighed and I grabbed my music bag from the trunk. I shoved past what's-her-name and ran up the stairs to the fourth floor where I found the room Dad was talking about. I gaped at it. It wasn't a room, it was the entire floor. There were no walls anywhere but on the sides, an entire floor of soundproofed walls.

I heard Dad come up behind me. He put a hand on my shoulder and said "I thought you would like it."

I turned into him for a hug, my silent thank-you. I don't often give hugs. He smiled and let me go before I got uncomfortable. Shelia was the next to come up. "The room is gorgeous, isn't it? I was thinking we could make it into a movie room or something."

The smile slipped slowly off my face. I knew it was too good to be true. Dad frowned. "Hun, I thought we agreed that Beca could have this room for her music."

"We did, but then I got to thinking that it would be a great movie room because the walls are soundproofed and everything. I'm sure Beca doesn't mind, do you?"

I pursed my lips and forced a smiled. "No, it's fine. I don't really care. I can mix music anywhere."

Shelia grinned. "As long as it's not too loud."

I narrowed my eyes slightly. "I'll keep it within reason."

Shelia clasped her hands and sighed happily. "Everything is going to be perfect."

Dad was still frowning. "But I already told Beca she could have the room."

I sighed inwardly. Time to play the good daughter. "It really is fine, Dad."

He eyed me warily. "Are you sure?"

"Yup. 100%"

He nodded, still looking a little suspicious. I looked around the house, finally picking the last room on the third floor. It was also the smallest, but I didn't really care. It was the farthest from Dad and Shelia's room and I just wanted to be alone.

* * *

><p>First day of school three months after moving in. Dad and Shelia announced their engagement and I tried to think positive thoughts. Shelia insisted on helping me choose my outfit and was thoroughly disappointed when I settled on a pair of jeans, a black shirt, my ear spike, and a stud in my other ear piercing. Shelia had frowned and insisted that I take out my "ear monstrosities". I had ignored her and skipped breakfast in order to get away faster.<p>

Classes were normal, I didn't make a single friend, and all in all I had a sucky day. All I really wanted to do was go up to my room and mix some music before I did my homework. Shelia met me at the door pressing for details about my day. I ignored her. "You should get used to me, Beca. I'm going to be your new mom whether out like it or not."

I glared at her. "You may be marrying my dad, but you will never be my mother."

Shock and anger crossed her face and she did something completely opposite to what I thought she would do. I was expecting her to tell me to go to my room, but instead she slapped me; hard.

My small, five foot nothing frame was jerked to the side and I fell into the wall. I gasped and looked back at Shelia who looked like she would do it again if she felt like it. I clenched my jaw and balled my fists. "Don't touch me ever again, you bitch."

She gave me another stinging slap and I pulled back my fist and punched her in the nose. There was a crack and Shelia howled in pain. Dad ran into the room and took one look at my raised fist and Shelia's bleeding nose and slapped me himself, a painful blow that caused my eyes to tear up.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Rebecca?"

"She started it."

"How so?"

"She slapped me twice."

"Oh, yeah?" He looked down at Shelia. "Did you slap her?"

"No, we were just talking and all of a sudden she got violent. I don't even remember what it was that I said."

I glared at her and Dad glared back at me. "Go to your room and pack up your equipment."

I narrowed my eyes. "Why?"

"You just punched my fiancée in the face; you're grounded, I'm taking away your music equipment."

The punishment was like a blow to the stomach. "What?"

"You heard me. Go pack the equipment up; I'll be there in a moment."

I marched upstairs in a daze and quickly packed my equipment. Then a plan formulated. I locked the door to give myself some extra time and grabbed a pen and some paper and wrote a note. _Dear Mr. Mitchell,_

_I can't stay anymore. I put up with Shelia's crap for three months and I can't take it any longer. She lied, she slapped me twice and the slap you gave me made a third. As Carrie Underwood once sang in a song, 'This is my temporary home. It's not where I belong. Windows and rooms that I'm passing through. This is just a stop on the way to where I'm going I'm not afraid because I know, this is my temporary home.'_

_Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Good luck with Shelia. I don't know when, but someday I'll find a place in this world. It just isn't here. Goodbye._

_Rebecca Mitchell._

Dad knocked at the door. "Beca, open up."

I didn't reply, just slung the bag of equipment over my shoulder and opened the window. "Beca, you know I have a key for your door."

"What's the point of having a lock then?"

I could practically see Dad rolling his eyes. "This is no time for joking, Beca."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed a hold of the branch just outside my window. "Who's joking?"

Dad groaned. "I'm going to get the key now."

I swung myself onto the branch and carefully climbed down the tree. I had my wallet and one of my dad's credit cards with me. I knew the pin and figured I'd withdraw some money and walk for a while. Once I was out of the city, I'd find a motel to stay in and get a job at a supermarket.

I jumped the last few feet to the ground and grabbed my skateboard from where I'd left it on the grass. I skated away, moving as fast as possible. Only fifteen minutes later, I was out of the neighborhood. For a while longer, I wandered. Just before nightfall, I found an ATM and used Dad's card to get some cash. I withdrew only one hundred and fifty dollars, not wanting him to be too far into debt.

When I was finished, I snapped the card in half and tossed it in the trash. I didn't sleep that night, not wanting to stop until I was as far from Dad and the step-monster as humanly possible.

I had plenty of energy for some odd reason so I skated all of the next day as well. I was almost out of state when I took a break and checked into a motel, using more of my cash than I had liked. I moved on the next day and bought fast food for breakfast. For a few days I did this, although, I didn't stay in a motel after the first night. I chose to sleep in alley instead.

Eventually, I decided that I was uncomfortably low on cash and "accidentally" bumped into people, working on my pick-pocketing technique. I could get a few dollars from some poor sucker's wallet and it could keep me going for a few days.

When I had been gone for about a month, I found a bunch of kids in an abandoned warehouse. During the day, groups of about three people would go out and steal from whoever they could and use that money to keep everyone fed. They let me join their group and I learned a few things. My technique was perfected, my punches were stronger, and one girl gave me a few more ear piercings.

When I was a month away from my sixteenth birthday, I met Jesse. He found me wandering the streets looking for the right person to steal from. I had only grown two inches in the past two years and was still really tiny. I had planned on stealing one guy's wallet and getting away without trouble, but the man noticed his wallet missing and had pinned me to the wall, saying that if I was taking his money, he might as well get something out of it.

As much as I tried, I couldn't get out of the man's hold. I tried kicking and punching, but the man just laughed and gave me one of _those_ looks. I managed to get out one scream before the man covered my mouth. Jesse ran into the alley and got the guy off of me. We hung out a bit and after a month, he asked me out. While talking, it had come out that I didn't like movies. "You don't like movies? What the hell is wrong with you? Not liking movies is like not liking puppies!"

I shrugged. "They're fine; I just get bored and never make it to the end."

He looked wounded. "The endings are the best part."

"They're predictable. The guy gets the girl, that kid sees dead people, Darth Vader is Luke's father."

"Oh, so you just happened to guess the greatest reveal in cinematic history?"

"Vader in German means father. His name is literally Darth Father."

"Oh, so you know German. Now I know why you don't like fun things. You need a movie education, you need a movication and I'm going to give it to you."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh really? Many have tried and failed."

"Well, I bet many don't show you The Breakfast Club."

"It sounds vaguely familiar."

Jesse shook his head and pulled me out of my chair at the restaurant. "C'mon, we are going straight to my house to watch The Breakfast Club."

And thus began our relationship. We went to his house and he spouted facts while we watched (he watched, I slept through) the movie and just as the end credits came on, we looked at each other and he leaned closer, his lips brushing mine slightly before I leaning into him and pressed my lips firmly to his.


	2. Chapter 2

I had been sixteen for four months when there was a raid on the warehouse. I had brought my mixing equipment with me to Jesse's and it was on my shoulder as he walked me back. I was just outside the door and reaching for the handle when the leader of the group ran out and yelled at me to run. Several of the others followed behind him. I took an elbow to the face in the shuffle and a policeman locked his arms around me when I made to follow the rest of the group. I screamed for Jesse, but he was lost in the crowd and I was cuffed and thrown in the back seat of a police car. My equipment was tossed onto the seat next to me and I yanked at the door handle in hopes of making some sort of escape.

I snagged a bobby pin from my hair and unlocked the cuffs, throwing them to the side as I tried to find a way out of the car. I brought up nil. Deciding it was futile, I checked over my music equipment and found it blessedly undisturbed. I took a look out the window and banged on it upon seeing Jesse. The cop got in the car just as Jesse spotted me and tried to make his way over to the car.

At the police station, I was sat in a chair and given a double-take at my lack of cuffs. I huffed a sigh. "What exactly am I being charged with?"

"Breaking and entering, destruction of property, and resisting arrest."

"Okay, I understand the last one, but not the first two. I didn't break and enter or destroy property."

"Then you're being charged with resisting arrest."

"Yes, but you can basically toss that one out. You had no real reason to arrest me therefore, resisting arrest could be easily transformed into self-defense. You failed to address yourself as an officer, have yet to read me my rights, and you grabbed me from behind, leading to the logical assumption that you were a man meaning to attack me, and I was simply a teenage girl doing what came naturally."

The cop raised his eyebrows. "You're very intelligent for your age."

"Don't let my looks deceive you, I'm sixteen."

The man nodded, recuffed me, and left the room. I picked the lock once again and put my feet up on the table to wait for someone. An hour later, the cop came back in and sat in the chair opposite me. "Well, Ms. Mitchell, we called your father. You're a long way from home."

"Been gone a long time too. How'd you know?"

"Looked for missing kids matching your age and description."

I nodded. "Smart. How long until Dad and the step-monster get here?"

The cop raised an eyebrow. "'Step-monster?'"

"That's what I call my step-mom. She tried too hard to be my mom and when I talked back, she slapped me, twice, the second time pretty much unprovoked. I retaliated by punching her in the nose, my dad slapped me and sent me to my room after believing some sob story from Shelia about my being crazy. I wrote a note, grabbed my mixing equipment, and hightailed it out of there."

"Mixing equipment. Is that what was in the bag?"

"Sure was. Tell your people to be careful with it, though. I won't be replacing it anytime soon. Back to the matter at hand. How long until I'm sent back to hell?"

"Your father said he would be here as soon as possible. You're in Nebraska, it's a while away from South Dakota."

"So he still lives there, then? Interesting. He doesn't usually stay in one place for too long."

The cop (I really need to learn his name) stared at me, looking rather amused. "Why were you with the others?"

"Other what?"

"Squatters. Why were you with them? You're obviously a very smart young girl, you could be working somewhere and going to school, with or without your dad."

I shrugged. "Path of least resistance, I guess. Although, I have been taking some online classes in my spare time."

"And how far in are you?"

"Well, I have enough credits to graduate. In fact, I already did. I got the diploma sent to me from my virtual school teachers and printed it out on some fancy paper that cost me an arm and a leg."

"College?"

"Not likely. For college, you need money. I don't have money. You forget that I live in an abandoned warehouse, Officer…"

"Worth. Officer Randal Worth."

"Alright."

We sat in silence for a moment. He seemed to study me before he said "You need some ice for that cheek? It's swelling up, bruising already."

I frowned. I had forgotten about the elbow to the face. "Yes, please."

Worth left the room and returned not long later with a bag of ice wrapped in a paper towel. I pressed it to my cheek, wincing slightly at the contact. For a little while longer, Worth was quiet. Then "Are you hungry?"

"A little, why?"

"It looks like it's been a while since you've had a good meal."

I thought on it. I had mostly been snacking here and there. "About three days since I had a real meal."

Worth smiled kindly. "Let's get some food in you then."

I frowned. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"I have a daughter about your age and I love her half to death. To see a young woman like you on the streets because her father believed his girlfriend over his own flesh and blood breaks my heart. I like to hope that my daughter will never feel the way you do."

I smiled at that. "She must be a very lucky girl to have a dad like you."

He grinned and led me from the room.

The next morning, I was still in the police station. I had ended up sleeping on one of the cots in a holding cell with the door open. Worth was on night duty and insisted that I be free to roam. I was thankful. I hate being cooped up.

Dad and the step-monster came in around noon. I was playing poker with Worth, who had refused to leave until Dad came for me. I had already won fifteen dollars off of him, and it didn't look like I was going to lose any time soon.

I laughed as Worth put his head in his hands and cursed my good poker skills. "When you live with a bunch of con artists for two years, you learn a few things."

He chuckled and I heard a voice by the front desk. "I'm here to pick up my daughter."

I sighed. "Looks like I'm off, Officer."

He smiled. "Let's see who wins this round then."

I spread my straight for him to see and he groaned. "And she beats me again! Gina, can you believe this kid? She beat me at three poker games in row."

The woman at the front desk, Gina, smirked. "At least someone can. I think she deserves a medal for that."

I grinned. "No need, I got Worth's thirty bucks."

I stood, stuffed my money in my pocket, and turned to face my father. Shock crossed his face as he took in my appearance. The bruise from the day before had bloomed a dark purple and with my hair pulled away from face, my numerous ear piercings were painfully visible.

He stared at me for a moment before sighing and motioning towards the door. Worth frowned behind me. "You haven't seen your daughter in more than two years and you don't do anything but nod?"

I scoffed. "What were you expecting? Also, he didn't nod. He was telling me to go out the door by nodding in that direction."

Worth pulled an upset expression. "If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't be letting her go. You have a sweet, intelligent young woman for your daughter and all you can do is tell her to leave?" He shook his head.

I almost laughed. "Please, you would never be in his shoes because you are an awesome dad. Chloe doesn't know how lucky she is."

Worth smiled. "Oh, she will. I'm going to tell her everything when she gets home from school later today."

Shelia sneered. "I don't know why you keep going on about Rebecca. She broke my nose before she ran away."

Worth crossed his arms over his chest. "And why did she punch you?"

"I don't know. One moment we were talking about her school day, the next I'm on the floor with a broken nose."

Worth looked over to me, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Is this true, Beca?"

"Not even a little bit. She slapped me twice before I punched her."

"Why did she slap you?"

"She was overstepping her boundaries as step-mother and when I said she would never be my mother she slapped me once. When I requested that she keep her hands off of me, she slapped me so hard that I fell to the floor."

Shelia gasped. "You did not fall to the floor. You barely jerked, it wasn't even a real slap, more like a love tap."

Worth and I grinned victoriously and Dad glared at Shelia. I gave Worth a high five and pulled his wallet out of my pocket. He shook his head in confusion. "I have no idea how you manage to do that."

"Mad raw talent."

I smiled and gave Worth a hug before grabbing my equipment and walking out the door. Dad followed me out and led me to the car. I got in the back seat and put my headphones on to listen to some music. Once the step-monster was in the car, we drove off and I waved to Worth.

We had only been in the car a few minutes when my headphones were yanked off and my bag pulled from the seat next to me. The step-monster shoved my things in the space by her feet and I glared holes in the back of her head. "Be careful with that. I held onto it for two years, I'm not letting it get broken anytime soon."

She shrugged her 'whatever' and ultimately ignored every word I said. I slammed my head against the head rest and closed my eyes, sleeping on the cot in the cell was difficult and I could really use some sleep. Unfortunately that's when Dad decided to be talkative. "How'd you get that bruise?"

"I got elbowed in the face by another runaway trying to get away from the cops in the raid."

The answer was not one he as expecting. "Oh. Next time just say you ran into a door. I don't want to know these things."

"Alrighty then, I ran into a door."

I closed my eyes again, but was again interrupted. "Why'd you leave?"

"You were going to believe the theory that I was crazy rather than that I was provoked. It showed that you didn't need me like I needed you so I left."

"And did you find 'where you belong'?"

"For a while I did. The other kids were like my family. Zeke was everyone's big brother and Cathy was the mother figure, trying to get us to save our money and such. There were about twenty other kids and we were all just a big family." I sat in thought for a moment. "I think I loved Jesse. I still do actually. He was my boyfriend. He saved me from a guy that tried to rape me."

In the rearview mirror, I saw Dad's eyebrows raise. "A man did what?"

"I stole some guy's wallet and he pinned me to the wall of an alley and said that if I was going to get his money, he ought to get something from me. He was grabbing at my clothes when I screamed and Jesse saved me."

We were all silent then and I fell asleep on the way back to Brookings, South Dakota.

**A/N: So, I was really disappointed that I didn't get any reviews on this story. Not a one. If you guys want me to keep updating and continue on with this, I'm going to need some kind of feedback so I knew what you want. Now, I'm not the kind of person to do this, but for me to update again, I need at least three reviews. To sweeten the deal, if you review, I'll send you a sneak peek of the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Wow, thank you so much for your reviews! I love to hear feedback from you guys and since I got more than three reviews on the last chapter, there is no max to meet. I just hope you guys like this enough to leave me something. I will, however, continue sending sneak peeks to those who review and I hope those that did review got their peek. Make sure you guys sign in when you review, though, because I can't send PMs to guests. And now, onto the chapter. Enjoy!**

When we got home, I waited until Shelia was out of the car to lunge forward and grab my bag before running into the house and up to my room. My room was exactly the way I had left it. The note was surprisingly still on my bed, the desk was still against the far wall, and my clothes were still in the closet, exactly as I had left them.

I closed and locked the door and set my music equipment out, sitting down to mix a song or two while I waited to be chewed out. I looked through my bag and found my diploma in a frame. Confused I looked at the back. There was a handwritten note. "Everyone deserves to have their diploma framed. –Worth."

I smiled. He would do that for me. In another pocket, there was a card with his name and number on it. He wrote that if I need a place to bunk if Shelia or my dad hit me again, I could run away and stay with him. I laughed at that. I was going to miss Worth. I heard the lock click and turned to see my dad in the doorway.

"You were going a long time."

I shrugged. "You didn't need me, I didn't need you. I can make it on my own."

He nodded. "Welcome home, Rebecca."

I raised an eyebrow. "'Rebecca', huh? I must really be in trouble."

Dad shrugged. "It's just what we called you after you left. Your mom was furious with me."

"I can imagine. I thought about going to LA, but then I realized that if I did, she would just send me back here."

Dad raised his eyebrows. "And how do you know she would do that? I happen to think she would have hidden you."

I smiled sadly at him. "I already know what really went on during the custody battle. I found the court papers. You made it sound like it lasted weeks when really it only lasted a few hours. Mom gave me up. She didn't want me. The papers said 'Mother wishes to have no contact with the child.' I read it myself."

"How the hell did you manage to find those?"

"About a month ago I hacked the court records."

"You hacked the court records?"

"Well, it was by accident. I was trying to hack into a coroner's report on one of the kids that died to see if it was my friend, but I ended up in the court house by accident. I figured that since I was there, I might as well find out how Mom lost me."

"You know how to hack into computers?"

"Well, pretty much anything, really. It's kind of a hobby that I've worked on over the years. One of the boys taught me how to crack the passwords on some of the computers we stole and I kind of took over from there."

"You stole computers?"

"Yeah, we'd steal the computer, phone, etc. and wipe the drive. We buff it, clean it up and everything, then head to a pawn shop that would buy it off of us."

"And the owner was never suspicious?"

"We gave him a small percent of our cut to look the other way."

"I see. So you were a thief?"

"I prefer the term businesswoman."

"And how was that business?"

"I took the computer, cleaned it up, and sold it. It's all business."

"Why? That officer said you were smart, so why live on the streets like that?"

"Because those kids were my family. They let me stay with them five minutes after I met them. Why? They said I looked like I need someone to take care of me. I've never really had someone to take care of me. The divorce was an ongoing battle; it's all I can remember. You and Mom were fighting so I had to take care of my dinner and I had to get to school early so I could ask my teacher for help on the homework or study for the test. I always took care of myself. Then I meet this group of runaways and they tell me that they want to help me. They want to take care of me. How could I say no?"

"How did the cop know you were smart?"

"One: I won thirty bucks off of him in poker. His tell was obvious. Two: I have a high school diploma that he was nice enough to frame, by the way. Three: I knew the law almost as well as he did. In fact, that's how I avoided getting charged with anything. I told him everything he did wrong and we laughed about it."

"How do you have a diploma?"

"I took some online high school classes. I wasn't about to let myself be stupid."

Dad smiled. "That's the Rebecca I know."

He left and Shelia came in, glaring daggers at me. "You're crafty; you got me to admit that I slapped you. I'll get back at you though. And nobody will suspect a thing."

I smirked. "Watch yourself, Shelia. I got a mean right hook."

She glared once more before leaving and closing the door behind her. I chuckled to myself and peeked at the clothes in my closet. "Lame, lame, too small, ugly, old, threadbare, ugh, hideous, trash, I think Shelia put that in there."

Everything was a no go. I sighed and gripped the door handle. I pushed, but the door didn't move. I threw my shoulder against it, and still nothing. I frowned and shrugged, not really caring. The door was probably just jammed. I threw open the window and climbed down the tree. I went back inside from there and was shocked by what I saw. There was a lock on the outside of the door. One I didn't notice before. It was electronic and that made me smile. I would find the frequency and unlock it from my bedroom computer. Simple enough. I unlocked it from the outside and thundered down the stairs, wanting to make as much noise as possible to let them know I was already out. I found Dad in the kitchen. "Nothing in my closet fits right; I'm going to hit up a Goodwill."

"Alright. Be back before dark."

"Yup."

I used my thirty bucks on clothes, shoes, and even a few earrings that I planned to sterilize thoroughly when I got back to my dad's place. I left a few hours later and dusk fell as turned back onto my street. When I opened the door, Dad roughly grabbed my arm. "I told you to be back by dark!"

"I just lost track of time, Dad. I turned onto this street when it got really dark. I'm only a few minutes late."

His fist whipped across my face, the already tender area from before now on fire. I fell to the floor with a shout. Blood spilled in my mouth and I spit it on the floor. Dad growled and kicked me in the stomach. I coughed as the air rushed out of my lungs and was yanked roughly to my feet. There was another slap to my face and I felt my lip split. Dad glared at me and I managed to choke out "What the hell?"

"Don't use that language in my house!" He punched me one more time and I passed out.

When I woke up, I was on the kitchen floor with the mother of all headaches. I pushed myself off the floor and into my room where I locked the door, hacked into the electronic lock outside the door, locked it and changed the password, then passed out on the desk.

When I woke up again, it was morning and someone was banging on the door. "Come on downstairs, Rebecca, breakfast is done."

I scoffed. "What, so you can hit me again?"

I was met with silence. "What?"

"You don't remember beating the hell out of me last night? I barely dragged myself up here before I passed out again." I took a looking in the mirror and grimaced. My left cheek was bruised, although it didn't appear to swell, my lip was crusted with dried blood, I had a black eye, and there was more blood cloying my mouth.

I unlocked the door and left the room to rinse my mouth. I bumped into Dad in the hall and he gasped. "What happened to you?"

"I ran into a door." My voice dripped with sarcasm.

"I did that?"

"Duh."

I pushed past him and opened the bathroom door. I turned on the faucet and gargled some water, wrinkling my nose in distaste at the coppery tang of blood. My spit was a bit redder than I would have liked and my head was seriously hurting. I pulled some Tylenol from the cupboard and swallowed a couple. When I was done, I went downstairs and made the mistake of trying to eat solid food. The result was intense pain in my jaw.

I sighed and made myself a bowl of soup, wondering what I was going to do. Dad didn't seem to remember a thing, but Shelia was looking smug. Dad announced that he and Shelia were going to work and that I would have the house to myself for the day. I nodded and pretended not to care, when on the inside, I was jumping with joy. I would have time to figure out what was going on.

My cheek continued to bother me so I grabbed an icepack from the freezer and sighed happily when the cold numbed the area. Dad and the step-monster left an hour later and the first thing I did was looked through the drawers on Shelia's side of the bed. I hit pay dirt. There was a small bottle of a liquid that I vaguely remembered seeing at a market stand at an illegal shop. I read the label. "Add no more than two drops to a fluid before drinking. More than two drops will result in intense adrenalin and loss of memory."

Well, that explained it. I dumped the liquid down the drain, rinsed the bottle a few times, then refilled it with water. Nothing to worry about. For another week, everything was fine. Dad was normal, Shelia glared at me all the time, and I did nothing but mix music. Then the week was up and after a trip to the mall, I came home late.

My bruises were almost gone by then and I was adjusting to life with my dad. I came home late and found the door locked. Not a problem, I knew how to pick the lock. I stepped inside and got a faceful of something that BURNED. I shrieked and a light came on, assaulting my eyes even more. I coughed loudly and gagged. I heard my dad's panicked voice. "Beca, what's the matter?"

I rubbed the heel of my hands against my eyes, hoping to stop the stinging pain. I heard Shelia's voice. "I heard a noise at the door and got my pepper spray. I thought someone was going to break in. When Rebecca came in, I saw her many piercings and thought she was a robber so I sprayed her."

I coughed again and choked, my eyes still burning something awful. Dad sighed. "The bottle said the burning could last up to six hours."

I whimpered for effect, though the pain was starting to die down. Dad picked me up and carried me to the first floor bathroom. "Rinse your eyes out and see if you feel better."

I stripped and crawled into the shower and turned the water on full blast. I dared to open my eyes and the water filled them. The pain was so bad I vomited. After twenty minutes, I could see again, though my eyes still burned. I got out and wrapped myself in a fluffy towel. I snuck up to my room, pulled on my jammies, and fell asleep.

When I woke up there were voices in my room. I kept my eyes closed and listed, wondering why they were talking in my room in the first place, soon deducing that they were just plain stupid people. "Shelia, I don't see why you have something against Beca. She's just being a teenage girl."

"She's trying to pull us apart. She knew I had pepper spray and after she told us she was mugged, I got really antsy."

"You make it sound like she planned this."

"Maybe she did. I found a bottle in her nightstand drawer a few days ago, but last night it was in mine. I think she slipped something in your drink to make you do what you did, then she tried to pin it on me."

"Beca wouldn't purposely hurt herself."

"No, but she might have tried to get you to hurt me. I would have left and it would just be the two of you again."

I heard the clink of glass. "What is this stuff?"

"I don't know, but I looked up the name and it's not legal in the States. We both know she was involved in some less than nice activities. She needs to be looked at by a psychiatrist."

"I'm not sending my daughter to a shrink."

"She needs to be institutionalized. There's something wrong with her. What happens if she doesn't like the baby? What if she hurts our child because she thinks he's getting more attention than she is?"

"Shelia, I know Beca and she would never do something like that."

"You don't know Beca. She has been gone for two years. She lies and she steals and she's smart. You know that! Sometimes people who are smarter than the average person get aggravated by people who aren't as smart as them. Their minds begin to slip. You have to put the needs of our baby ahead of your love for your daughter. She's lashed out at me once, we don't want it to happen again."

"You slapped her."

"Once. She was being sassy and I punished her."

"She was fourteen."

"She should have known that violence is not the answer."

Dad sighed heavily. "Fine. I'll call someone tomorrow morning. Don't breathe a word of it to her though or she'll bolt."

"Of course."

They left and I jumped out of bed. I packed a bag quickly and got dressed. The burner phone I had from my time in the warehouse was on my desk. I grabbed it and shoved my diploma in my bag. My equipment went with me once again and I grabbed a pen and paper. _Dear Dad,_

_ I heard you and Shelia. Goodbye again. P.S., I'm not crazy. Congrats on your new kid._

_ Rebecca Mitchell_


	4. Chapter 4

I climbed out the window again and went down the tree once more. When I was out of the neighborhood, I dialed Worth's number. It was almost midnight and if he didn't answer, I would call the station. I had memorized that number too. A girl answered. "Hello?"

"Is Officer Worth home?"

"No, he got the night shift again."

"Thank you."

I hung up and dialed the station's number. Gina picked up. "Hello?"

"Hi, it's Beca. Can I speak to Worth?"

"Sure thing, hon."

A moment later, Worth picked up. "What's wrong, Beca?"

"Why would you think something's wrong?"

"You wouldn't call otherwise."

"Dad wants me institutionalized."

"What?!"

"I've run away again. I'm tired of everything. They were talking in my bedroom earlier. They thought I was asleep. Shelia convinced Dad to put me in an institution. She's pregnant and is convinced that I'm going to kill everybody in their sleep."

"Why?"

"I foiled her plan to kill me."

"Say what now?"

"She's been feeding my dad this stuff that's used by athletes. It's supposed to be invisible unless you look for it specifically, but if you use too much, you get aggressive and lose memory. I came home late the first night back and he was on that stuff. He smacked me around a lot and didn't remember a thing the next morning. I found the bottle in Shelia's nightstand and dumped the contents out and filled it with water instead. She pinned it on me tonight, Dad believed her. He agreed to institutionalize me."

"What? Why would any father do that?"

"He thinks I'm crazy, that's the end of it."

"Come back here. You can stay with me. I'll tell everyone you're my niece."

I smiled. "Okay. I don't know how long it'll take me to get there though."

"Do what it takes."

I hung up and started walking.

* * *

><p>Almost a month later, I made it back. I stopped at Worth's first and dropped my stuff off. He told me to take a shower and make myself at home, he had to work. I took a shower and went out to find Jesse. I stopped at his house first, his parents were glad to see me and didn't know where he was, but suspected he was at the park watching movies on his portable TV.<p>

So I went to the park. I don't know what I expected. I had only been gone two weeks so maybe just him on a bench watching a movie. He was on the bench with some other girl. I thought she was a stranger and I smiled when I spotted Jesse mouthing the final words to The Breakfast Club. Then he leaned over and kissed the girl. I froze mid-step. He didn't love me. I had thought he did, but he didn't.

And just like that my whole world crashed down around me. I fled the park before he saw me and sat on the couch at Worth's until his daughter came home and asked a bunch of questions, most about the situation with my dad. It was close to eight when Chloe suggested we go to a karaoke bar down the street. "You mix so much music I'm sure you can sing."

I went and Chloe went first with Titanium. I was a few songs after, choosing Welcome to My Life by Simple Plan. Jesse and his girlfriend come in while I'm singing. I can tell from the look on his face that he had no clue I was back. The song ends and I get off stage. Jesse was staring at me with the pity he knew I couldn't stand and I turned away. I was beyond caring. I turned to Chloe and we talked. I learned that she was four years older than me and she had graduated high school early and was on her third year of college. She went to Barden University and had a friend name Aubrey. They were in an a cappella group called the Bellas and were to be captains of the team when the others left as the rest of the team were seniors. Her last name was Beal because though she loved her dad, she didn't want to be Chloe Worth and took her mom's last name. She loved her dad almost as much as she loved her boyfriend, Jason. By the time we left the bar, I knew Chloe's life story. Someone put their hand on my shoulder as we came out and I turned to find Jesse. His brown eyes were apologetic. "Becks."

I held up my hand. "Save it, I don't really care."

He sighed. "I just talked to my mom. She said you were looking for me. You saw didn't you?"

I nodded and he frowned down at his hands. "I thought you were gone forever. I saw the news. They said that 'missing sixteen year old Rebecca Mitchell was found in a small town in Nebraska. Missing for two years, her father takes her home to South Dakota.' I really thought you were never coming back."

I shrugged. "I understand. I didn't think I was coming back either."

"Why are you back?"

"My dad and step mom were going to put me in an asylum so I left again. The cop who caught me last time offered me a place to stay."

"Why would he do that?"

"He knows the whole story. I need to get going; I don't want Randal to think that I ran away from him too."

"Randal. He your new boyfriend?"

"He's the cop."

"Oh."

I sighed and shook my head, walking away.

* * *

><p>I was with Randal for almost three days when it happened. I was at the park watching life pass me by when I saw the step monster and Dad come out of the trees. I stood from the bench I was on and walked quickly away. I spotted Jesse and despite the fact that the new girl was with him, made my way over.<p>

I was almost to them when I felt a terrible pain come over me. I cried out and fell, two metal prongs sticking in my side. Electricity flooded my body as someone activated the taser. Sheer willpower kept me awake. A man in a white outfit stood over me. "Well, this one's a strong one. She might need a few more volts if we want to knock her out."

There was more electricity and I screamed. I forced myself to stay awake and was breathing heavily when the man stopped. I whimpered and the man sighed. "Put her in the straight jacket, I'll get the sedative."

My limp body was forced into a straight jacket and the other man came back and pressed a needle into my neck. A sedative was forced into my system and I floated into unconsciousness.

**A/N: Ta-da! So, what do you think? Reviews are much loved and appreciated and those who do get a sneak peek. To those that did review, I hope you got yours in your inbox. I should update again next week! **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So, sorry it took me so long to update, but I've been going through some things and I haven't even been able to write. Like, at all. The lake of my will to write dried up, but I managed to squeeze this chapter out for you guys. Now, this will be the last chapter, but I have a sequel in mind that will take Beca through her time at Barton, of course, with a few Changes (LOL, I'm so punny).**

When I woke up, I was in a small room with a bed in one corner and a bucket in the other. I had no idea what they expected me to do with the bucket so I ignored it. I tried to move my arms and realized that I was still in the straight jacket. I managed to stretch it out enough to get my clothed fingers on the buckle. I undid it and shrugged it off. I made my way to the door and smiled when it was unlocked. A woman was outside the door when I walked out. She smiled at me. "Hi, I was just coming in to check on you, I'm Carly, I'll be taking care of you here." She looked me over and stared at me in confusion. "What happened to your straight jacket?"

"I'm a master of all locks. Headlocks included."

Carly chuckled. "Okay then. You hungry?"

"A little, I guess. What time is it?"

"It's going on five."

"PM?"  
>"AM. You've been here for about twelve hours. Your parents requested we keep you sedated on the ride here and the guard misjudged your weight and overdid it on the sedative. We fired him."<p>

"So I'm stuck here then?"

"Yeah."

I shook my head sadly. "My dad really thinks I'm crazy, huh?"

Carly frowned. "When he told us what you did to your step mother we agreed to admit you."

"And what did he say?"

"That you attacked your step mother without provocation and endangered your own life in an attempt to get your father to hurt your step mother."

"And how did he say I did that?"

"An illegal substance."

I laughed dryly. "Let me tell you, it's all lies. I was slapped twice by Shelia and she fed my dad the illegal stuff so he would hurt me. I found the bottle in her nightstand drawer. I'll go out and say it, she hates me." I sighed. "I don't understand why Mom had to let me go."

"What do you mean?"

"In the divorce, my dad got custody of me. I stumbled upon the records and saw that Mom didn't even want me. She let Dad take me."

Carly put her arm around my shoulders. "I'm sure your mom loves you very much and did that because she cared."

"Then why did she say she didn't even want to see me?"

"What?"

"The papers said 'Mother wishes to have no contact with the child.'"  
>Carly looked speechless and I sighed. "That's what I thought."<p>

A kid on a skateboard flew by and knocked me over. "What the hell?"

Carly turned. "Jorje, slow down!"

"Yes, ma'am."

I stood back up. "What of institution is this?"

"We let the kids do what makes them feel safe and eventually, they learn to open up to us. We've found that restraining kids does not help. They are the priority."

"Yeah, but what's so wrong with restraining them?"

"We get some very traumatized children here sometimes. One child was tied up by her father when she had done wrong. Restraining her did nothing other than terrify her further."

I nodded. It did, after all, make sense. "So, what kinds of drugs to you plan on putting me on?"

"We were thinking a psychotropic drug. See what kind of effect it has on you."

"I'd prefer not. One of the side effects is extreme lethargy. I don't want my brain to be foggy like that."

"We could try some antipsychotics."

"I've read about those too, and I don't like the sound of them."

"What do you suggest?"

"Antidepressants."

"Why?"

"My life sucks, I'm not crazy, yet I'm in an institution, and you have to give me something or my dad will sue."

"Fair enough."

I had been there for three weeks when I got my first visitor. I looked like a disaster and I knew it. I had been punched by a new kid the night before and had a black eye and split lip. Again. My dad or mom had yet to visit and logically, I knew that this sucked, but the antidepressants fought that.

I liked to help Carly out with kids and she let me because, despite the doctor saying I had some sort of mental disease, she knew that there wasn't a thing wrong with me.

* * *

><p>My first visitor was, surprise, surprise, Jesse. I was cuffed and sat down in a chair and told to be nice. I rolled my eyes, grabbed the bobby pin from my hair (I always had at least one) and waited until my visitor came in to unlocked the cuffs.<p>

Then Jesse walked in and I wondered what the hell he was doing here. I raised an eyebrow as he sat down. He cringed. "Jeez, Becks, what happened?"

"I got hit by the new kid."

"Did he get punished?"

"No, why should he?"

"He hit you."

"His mother hit him his entire life. Our hair colors and facial structures are alike and he thought I was the woman the nearly beat him to death. It was only logical that he retaliate."

Jesse raised his eyebrows and nodded and I turned my attention to the cuffs. A moment later, the lock sprang open and I took off the cuffs and put the bobby pin back in my hair. I smiled. "So, why are you here?"

"I thought you might like some company. From what you told me of your dad, I didn't think he would visit you much."

"He hasn't visited at all in the three weeks that I've been here."

"Oh."

"How did you find me?"

"I asked that cop you were staying with. He said you were here and since he had been working all the time he hadn't had the chance to visit so I should."

I nodded and propped my feet up on the table. "How's your new girlfriend?"

"Um, she's fine. A little miffed that I drove all the way here to see you, actually."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why? Why would she care?"

"I was supposed to spend the day with her today, but I figured since I was in the area, I might as well say hi to you and dropped her off at a smoothie place while I went here."

I chuckled softly. "So, let me get this straight. You told your girlfriend you would spend the day with her and instead dropped her off a smoothie place so you could visit your ex in an asylum?"

"Well, when you put it like that…"

I laughed and stood up. "Go back to your girlfriend."

Jesse's brow crinkled in confusion. "But, don't you want someone to talk to? I mean, you're locked up here with a bunch of crazy kids."

"First, they're not crazy, just unfortunate. Second, of course I want someone to talk to; I just don't want someone to get hurt because of me. My dad already thinks I'm a Holly Home Wreaker, I don't need someone else out to get me."

"Becks, you don't deserve to be here."

"Tell that to the in house shrink. He's convinced that I'm a paranoid schizophrenic with an inferiority complex as a result of my being 'abandoned' by my mother."

"I have no idea what either of those mean."

"I'm really paranoid and I think that everyone's better than me."

"Your shrink thinks that?"

"Yeah, and unfortunately, the symptoms fit. Thank God I convinced my nurse to give me antidepressants instead of the shit they wanted to out me on. I am not taking an antipsychotic. No way, no how."

"Oh, that sucks."

"Tell me about it; now get back to your girlfriend."

"Happy birthday, Becks."

"Thanks."

Jesse rushed forward and gave me a hug before turning and leaving.

I smiled and allowed the guards to cuff me again before taking me back to my cell.

* * *

><p>Another week later, the in house shrink was arrested for diagnosing patients with no license. I was retested and it came out that there was absolutely nothing wrong with me. Big surprise.<p>

I was released and I moved out of my dad's house rather than running away. I was seventeen and had already gotten dear old dad to sign the papers to let me be an emancipated minor. I could live on my own and was currently staying with Worth until I had enough money to get an apartment.

The asylum apologized for keeping me even though I was not crazy and even hired me to help out with the kids. I have almost enough money to get an apartment closer to the asylum. I'm happy. Jesse visits me from time to time, but not very often. The conversations get really awkward really fast.

Fin

**A/N 2: So, obviously I have had absolutely no education in the world or medicine or psychology and my portrayal of the clinic Beca was in came from a Lisa Gardner book called Live to Tell. I hope I did it all justice. ****I hoped you enjoyed this, thank you all for reading and those of you who reviewed, followed and favorited. Now, to keep in the spirit of things, if you review this chapter, I'll send you a peek of the sequel which will be called Changing Again (an oh, so original title, right?).**


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